Attempts to classify this play with other works of Benavente are almost useless. It can be connected with its fellow productions only by virtue of fundamental qualities, such as clarity of style, irony, character study, etc. It would be stretching a point if we called attention to the nobility of Leandro's character and to the happy ending in order to insert the play among those that show a serious moral purpose. A more logical course would be to attribute _Los intereses creados_ to Benavente's love of romance. No explanatory or critical statements can rival the prologue. Whatever critics may decide to call it, the characters live and move, and offer amusement and food for thought to all classes of persons. Admirers of _Los intereses creados_ may receive a shock when they turn to the sequel, _La ciudad alegre y confiada_, in which a tone of pessimism prevails. Crispín has risen to be the ruler of the city that he had once entered as a servant, but in spite of his magnificence, his life is not as joyous as of old. Leandro is not happy as the son-in-law of Polichinela, nor even as the husband of Silvia. The protagonist of the piece is El Desterrado, a man once exiled by Crispín, but later permitted to return to the city. The play was greeted with enthusiasm, but it does not seem quite to reach the standard of its predecessor. The atmosphere is surcharged with impending disaster. In the prologue to _Los intereses creados_ it is stated that the world has aged since the days of the old farces; we may go further and state that in _La ciudad alegre y confiada_ the world of _Los intereses creados_ has grown old. Puppet performances go back to the Italian _commedia dell'arte_ (Comedy of the Guild, Professional Comedy) which flourished especially in the sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries. The Italian plays were for the most part mere scenarios; the speeches were improvised by the actors. This kind of performance was peculiarly suited to the histrionic ability of the Italians, and to their genius for gestures. The _commedia dell'arte_ was received with favor in many countries of Europe, and its influence was felt by some of the greatest authors. The modern Punch and Judy show is its direct descendant.